Using fresh figs from El Dorado!
Foster City, CA
Danielle P.
Potluck: Home made fig bread
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Monthly Archives: September 2012
Chicken liver toscana – Mercato
Grilled flatbread, fig marmellata, and arugula salad. $7
Mercato, Charleston SC
This chicken pate is a classic Tuscan dish and Mercato did it justice! It was simply delicious! The fig marmellata provided sweetness and the bright, citrus-y arugula salad helped to cut the heaviness of the chicken liver. Noms!
Warm focaccia and olive oil. Complimentary.
Charleston Harbor. The view would have been perfect if not for the gross plastic bags in the water, lol!
Fried shrimp po boy – Jestine’s Kitchen
Breaded and fried shrimp with mixed greens and tomatoes on a toasted roll. Served with cole slaw and fried okra. $8.95
Jestine’s Kitchen, Charleston SC
Mmm, this was SO much food for nine bucks! The shrimp were tasty and the sandwich was too large for me to finish, especially with the colesalw and fried okra. I ended up foregoing the bread midway through and just ate the center. I definitely gained a few pounds during this trip!
I also got a side of macaroni and cheese ($2.50) because I can’t deny the little fatty in me, lol! It was delicious!
View of Fort Moultrie from the visitor center, Sullivan’s Island. I took a little tour of this cute fort during a free weekend. It was really cool to learn more about the history of the Charleston area.
Potluck: Desserts
“Peach Melba baked Alaska”, peach ice cream and sorbet, Earl Grey tea pound cake, Earl Grey tea mousse.
Creme fraiche creme brulee torte, pistachio cake, blackberry ice cream, blackberries and blueberries.
Assorted sweets and pastries.
La Folie, San Francisco CA
Alan C.
Anson Mills Carolina Gold horchata cocktail – McCrady’s Restaurant
Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice, Espolon Reposado tequila, Amaro Nonino liqueur, honey vinegar, Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas bitters, lime. $12
McCrady’s Restaurant, Charleston SC
This was a new one for me – a horchata cocktail! And it was SO delicious! They used rice flour and lots of other ingredients as you can see. The result is a super refreshing and scrumptious cocktail with lots of flavor and a wonderful texture!
Open up the menu and choose your own adventure!
Scallop and pork belly – Poogan’s Porch
Pan seared scallop and pork belly with pickled shallots, microgreens, arugula puree, finished with bbq reduction. $8.95
Poogan’s Porch, Charleston SC
Found this restaurant through Yelp, and I’m SO glad I did! The food was amazing and the service was sweet (and on the young side, lol). This pork belly was done pretty well with a great sear and caramelization on the outside. You never know how fatty pork belly is gonna be when you order it, but this cut wasn’t too fatty at all. I really don’t mind either way, but this is Charleston y’all and I needed to save fat calories where ever I could, lol! I will say that the scallops tasted a little too sharp and metallic-y for me. They were beautifully cooked though, the flavor was just off.
Home made biscuit and honey butter. Complimentary. This biscuit was light and fluffy and everybody frickin’ loves honey butter so I was in heaven.
St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church. This is a pretty cool looking church along King Street opposite Marion Square.
Basket of corn bread – Jestine’s Kitchen
With honey butter. $1.95
Jestine’s Kitchen, Charleston SC
I’m not sure if it was the actual corn bread or the honey butter that made these SO good, but they were irresistible! I could have eaten the entire basket all by myself!
Sweet homemade pickles. Complimentary. I’d rather have these free, delicious pickles than free dinner rolls any day!
United States Custom House, East Bay Street. Construction of this building first started in 1853 and was finally completed in 1879.
Potluck: Shellfish, meat, and entremet
Seared day boat scallop and crispy sweetbreads, on nantais carrot puree, truffle vinaigrette.
Roasted Emigh Farms lamb rack, with summer squash, lamb tongue, eggplant puree, nicoise olive lamb jus.
Yogurt with grape and tangerine.
Espresso.
La Folie, San Francisco CA
Alan C.
Duck roasted on the bone – McCrady’s Restaurant
Allium, sumac and African blue basil. 4 course dinner $60
McCrady’s Restaurant, Charleston SC
There were so many components to this dish, but all I could think was, “Where’s the bone?” I guess it doesn’t say that the duck is actually served with it, but the “bone” is so prominent on the menu description that I just assumed it would be. Along with the cut of roasted duck breast is a seared tower of duck thighs! I actually preferred the thighs, lol, but the breast was perfectly cooked and very flavorful as well. I enjoyed that they included all parts of the allium prepared in different ways, the grilled bulbs were SO sweet and delicious! The white rice and onion sauce was on the boring side, but the duck reduction(?) was delicious. This dish is one the heavy side, so pace yourself! Hehe.
McCrady’s sign in front of the restaurant. The restaurant entrance is located in a small alley just south of the Market area, don’t miss it!
Southern Orange cocktail – Poogan’s Porch
Southern Comfort whiskey, orange juice, triple sec, gingerale, dash of bitters. $9
Poogan’s Porch, Charleston SC
This cocktail was very refreshing! I thought it might be a little strong because of the whiskey, but the addition of oj, triple sec and ginger ale kept the flavors light and sweet. Mmm, very good!
Heavy wooden door against yellow walls, Fort Moultrie, Sullivan’s Island. This was the door leading to the powder room in this historic fort. The grounds are super clean and very pretty.
Mercato martini – Mercato
Firefly sweet tea vodka, housemade limoncello and lemon twist. $9.50
Mercato, Charleston SC
Mmm, what a great way to start a dinner! I really liked the combination of sweet tea vodka and limoncello. It was sweet, tart, and totally snuck up on me, lol!
Beach on Sullivan’s Island. You can see the Charleston skyline and the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in the distance.
Park Circle hamburger – Sesame Burgers & Beer
Proudly serving Meyers Farm hormone free, grass fed beef, ground in house daily using their special seasoning and cooked to order. Each burger is served on a fresh sesame seed bun with lettuce and a side of housemade bread and butter pickles. Sharp cheddar cheese, cole slaw, bbq sauce and tomato. $7.40 (Side of sliced cucumber salad with oregano, feta and olives. $1.50)
Sesame Burgers & Beer, North Charleston SC
This placed was jam-packed! We had to wait to get seated, then we waited a really long time before we got our food. We actually waited SO long that we had our food packed to-go because our lunch time was ending! I guess that’s what happens when you have a really popular restaurant and not many dining alternatives nearby. The cheeseburger was really good though and the beef patty was tender and juicy. I loved the coleslaw and bbq sauce combination. The cucumber salad was just ok, but I can’t really complain for a buck fifty!
Typical marshland vegetation, Ripley Point. The saw palmettos seem to grow everywhere!
Vittle Monster 